Carbonization of a Custom Di(trimethylolpropane) tetra-acrylate Photoresist and the Effects of Oxygen Stabilization Process

Abstract

Glassy carbon has been extensively studied and used in various industrial applications in the last two decades. The versatility comes from its extraordinary mechanical properties, biocompatibility, high chemical resistance & thermal stability, and low electrical resistance. Glassy carbon can be produced from heat treatment of certain polymers beyond their degradation temperature in absence of oxygen (pyrolysis). Though it usually requires pyrolysis at > 2000°C to obtain glassy carbon from bulk polymers with high purity, recent reports show a lower pyrolysis temperature (eg. 900°C) is sufficient to achieve glassy carbon features in micro/nanoscale. This thesis report will focus on the carbonization process (< 1000 °C) on a custom photoresist, a di(trimethylolpropane) tetra-acrylate polymer, in both bulk scales (millimeter) and micrometer scales. The effects of pre-pyrolysis oxidation (<350 °C) on the carbonization process are also investigated. Our findings show that in the case of bulk samples, the pre-pyrolysis oxidation process can improve the final yield of the carbon products.